Some parents want the school board to close Richmond Hill Middle School for at least a week as a result of the H1N1 virus.

One of those parents, Rachael Bell, has contacted a number of state and local officials and the media. Bell is critical of the way local school administrators have responded to the H1N1 virus.

"The question is, why is Richmond Hill Middle School still open and why are we continuing to subject our kids, especially those with compromised immune systems, to such significant risks," she said. "There simply comes a point when where one has to ask oneself what’s more important, missing a couple days of work and the financial ramifications or our kids’ health? I think a lot of sick kids’ parents are asking themselves that very question and I believe they make that choice for their kids."

Bell told officials in a blanket email she and her children were among a number of people in Richmond Hill who have gotten the flu twice.

And she isn’t the only one voicing concern.

Another parent claimed to have heard there were absentee rates at RHMS as high as 39 percent. On line at bryancountynews.net, a frequent blogger posted Tuesday that 20 percent of the student population was out with the flu.

-Read more in the Bryan County News